This is of relevance to Australia, due to its increasing military ties to Japan and economic ties to China.However, there is only one mention of Australia in Dr. Smith's book and only to do with China's exporting of food (page 163).
Dr. Smith pointed out that until recently the USA and Japan had no plans formanaging military conflict with China. I assume this is a reference to diplomatic plans, as it seems unlikely that the USA would not have detailed military plans in place and their Japanese counterparts would not be familiar with these, even if this could not be publicly acknowledged.
Dr Smith asserted that US representatives have made clear they will not provide direct military force to defend the Senkaku Islands, but they are helping Japan train its soldiers as marines (something Australia is also developing an amphibious capability and might usefully work with Japan)